Madurai - street shot.

[shadesoflight]

Madurai is an ancient city with recorded history dating back to 3rd century BCE. The shot is taken under the new bridge on river Vaigai. Murals are painted on the pillars. The old structure seen on the river dates back to the 16th/17th century. The Vaigai splits city into two, in which the northern half has started developing during the colonial period.

Comments and critique welcome. Thank you.



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[Geoff F]

Looks like a tricky situation, photographically speaking.

I would have preferred to see the feet of the right side person. Bottom left corner has a tiny piece of green, which looks like a bit of a plastic box. I would clone it out.

Pity about that large area of blank pale grey sky in the top left corner. But we can't pick and choose in these matters; it is often just a case of having to make do with what is there at the time of shooting. I am almost tempted to crop out that old building on the left, along with the orange crate and go for a square crop instead.

[Manfred M]

+1 to what Geoff has written.

Everything under a bridge, underpass, flyover, etc, will be shaded, which means the areas past it will tend to be much brighter. That is what has happened here; the people and other things are in a darker area of the scene and are properly exposed. The areas beyond it are very bright to the point where the sky is close to clipping.

The human visual system is keyed to see areas of brightness or of high contrast, so the tendency is for our eyes to notice the very bright sky in the background, so that weakens the overall impact of the image.

You should also watch what is happening around the edge of the image. The cut of legs that Geoff has mentioned, the bit of green in the bottom left hand corner and the gap between the pillar and the edge of the image all weaken the composition a bit.

Concentrating on the people and eliminating distractions, such as the historical building in the background will also strengthen the image.

[Shadowman]

It is a nice scene to photograph but as others have said a few too many spoiled elements, but yes a crop solves some of the issues.

[shadesoflight]

Looks like a tricky situation, photographically speaking.

I would have preferred to see the feet of the right side person. Bottom left corner has a tiny piece of green, which looks like a bit of a plastic box. I would clone it out.

Pity about that large area of blank pale grey sky in the top left corner. But we can't pick and choose in these matters; it is often just a case of having to make do with what is there at the time of shooting. I am almost tempted to crop out that old building on the left, along with the orange crate and go for a square crop instead.

Thank you for the detailed review. Yes the sky was without details and I was trying to get some other shot with vehicles as subject. This came by chance.
Thought the green bit at lower end would be missed by people. Should have cropped or cloned it.
Feet of the person on the right - he was not planned and I wanted to get the shot while the action was happening. So left him like that.
Old building - wanted to include that as part of the story, but looks like it did not work out much. Thanks!

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[shadesoflight]

+1 to what Geoff has written.

Everything under a bridge, underpass, flyover, etc, will be shaded, which means the areas past it will tend to be much brighter. That is what has happened here; the people and other things are in a darker area of the scene and are properly exposed. The areas beyond it are very bright to the point where the sky is close to clipping.

The human visual system is keyed to see areas of brightness or of high contrast, so the tendency is for our eyes to notice the very bright sky in the background, so that weakens the overall impact of the image.

You should also watch what is happening around the edge of the image. The cut of legs that Geoff has mentioned, the bit of green in the bottom left hand corner and the gap between the pillar and the edge of the image all weaken the composition a bit.

Concentrating on the people and eliminating distractions, such as the historical building in the background will also strengthen the image.

Thanks much for the crop. It looks certainly good.
Will certainly keep in mind the points regarding exposure, I generally tend to look and attempt the story, but sometimes misses photography basics!
I wanted to include the building in the background for the story part. Also when cropping closely, the mural on the pillar, which actually has a depiction of a lady vendor, gets out of the frame.
The green bit on bottom left should have been cloned out. Thanks again for your time.

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[Manfred M]

Thanks much for the crop. It looks certainly good.
Will certainly keep in mind the points regarding exposure, I generally tend to look and attempt the story, but sometimes misses photography basics!
I wanted to include the building in the background for the story part. Also when cropping closely, the mural on the pillar, which actually has a depiction of a lady vendor, gets out of the frame.
The green bit on bottom left should have been cloned out. Thanks again for your time.

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From what you have written, it sounds like this is a "grab shot", i.e. an image that had little forethought or planning when you snapped it. Had you waited for a few more seconds that man on the right would have walked right out of the frame and your shot would have been stronger.

The story you tell with an image is often stronger when it is simpler. The ancient building is not really connected with the vendors under the bridge, so it is not a complication that you should add to the image. In fact, an out of focus background would strengthen this story. I thought that the painting might have a link to the vendors below, but again, is it a complication that the image can do without? I suspect the answer is yes.

[William W]

. . . Comments and critique welcome. Thank you.

Slightly tighter, camera a bit to the left, and wait two seconds for the walker to leave the frame are my three key suggestions.

IMO the main element for you to consider is to learn to wait, or better phrased, learn to TIME the shot.

Much more would have been achieved, if the rear-view of the person walking through the scene were absent.

WW

Addendum - yep, I just read that Manfred mentioned "Grab Shot". IMO, generally that's not a good habit to encourage.

[Geoff F]

With this type of scene it is always worth taking several shots of the general area with a slight time gap between the shots and also try a few slight variations to the shooting angle. Then, hopefully, one of your shots will appear considerably better than the rest.